Box Scores and Record Stores

2011 in Country Music: Best singles (and five that sucked)

2011-12-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

10. Alison Krauss - Paper Airplane
Did not chart

Poignant, well crafted lyrics combine with the voice of an angel to make a wonderful piece of music. I got chills the first time I heard the soaring chorus. Still do occasionally.

9. Justin Haigh - All My Best Friends (Are Behind Bars)

Did not chart

It's been a while since I've heard a good old fashioned drinking song like this on the radio. Haigh has a great voice, and the song features a nice play on words that shows it's still possible to cover the old country tropes in a new way. Sadly, the only reason I heard it was because he opened for Chris Young at a concert in Lincoln so the song was played to promote the show. Otherwise, it got no love.

8. Sunny Sweeney - Staying's Worse Than Leaving
Chart peak: 38

I never thought Sunny Sweeney would make any dent on the charts. She seems too country and too twangy for mainstream country radio. Yet with "From a Table Away" making it into the top ten, and two subsequent top 40 singles, she seems to be getting at least a little traction. This is my favorite song on her album. A story of a woman who has tried everything she can think of to save a relationship, but finally accepts that it simply isn't salvageable.

7. Bradley Gaskin - Mr. Bartender
Chart peak: 32

I could say a lot of the same things about this song as the Justin Haigh tune, complete with a voice that sounds like one of the top artists of the '90s (in this case, Travis Tritt). This one is much more of the tear jerking variety of drinking songs, with a brilliant hook, "Mr. Bartender, take me out with one shot."

6. Kenny Chesney Feat. Grace Potter - You and Tequila
Chart peak: 3

While Kenny's deal is impersonating Jimmy Buffet, he's at his best when he's brooding and melancholy. It would be hard for any artist to mess up this song, which was wonderfully written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter, but the sparse arrangement and addition of Grace Potter on harmony make it easily one of the best songs Chesney has ever recorded.

5. Ronnie Dunn - Cost of Livin'
Chart peak: 19

When Dunn first recorded the song in 2008, his label discouraged releasing it on the grounds that A.) the economy would have recovered by the time it came out, and 2.) Dunn was "too wealthy" for the song. Obviously, they were wrong about the former, and the latter pissed Dunn off enough that he insisted on doing it. The song perfectly captures the plight of the working poor in the present in much the same way that Merle Haggard did in his day.

4. Jamey Johnson - Heartache

Chart peak: 51

As if I was going to get through a year end list without Jamey Johnson making an appearance. This is one of my favorites off The Guitar Song, so of course it had no chance of radio success. The fact that it charted at all is a surprise.

3. George Strait - Here For A Good Time
Chart peak: 2

The word "outlaw" is seldom attached to King George, but I think it fits here. This song is full of attitude that flys a bit under the radar because it's wrapped in a country shuffle and Strait's typical laid back delivery. It's the sort of thing people like Eric Church and Jason Aldean have been trying way too hard to achieve and failing at.

2. Randy Houser - In God's Time
Chart peak: 54

Don't look now, but between "Anything Goes" and this song, Randy Houser is rapidly developing into one of the best up and coming artists in country music. Inconsistency is the one thing that's really holding him back. This song about letting go and putting things in God's hands could easily come off as heavy handed, but Houser's low key, soulful performance makes it fantastic.

1. Vince Gill - Threaten Me With Heaven
Chart peak: 42

I heard this song for the first time less than a month before my grandpa died of cancer. Cancer has been a popular topic to do over syrupy songs about lately (I'm looking at you, Martina and Rascal Flatts), but Vince's song beautifully portrays someone at peace with his impending death. Music has always been a huge part of my life; it relaxes me when I'm stressed, helps me focus and acts as a soundtrack for both the good and bad times. Never have I found a song more comforting through the bad than this one.

Just missed the cut: Zac Brown Band - "Keep Me In Mind", Shooter Jennings - "Outlaw You", Billy Currington - "Love Done Gone", Trace Adkins - "Just Fishin'", Terri Clark - "Northern Girl"

Five Songs I Hated

5. Brantley Gilbert - Country Must Be Country Wide
Chart peak: 1

The Triggerman over at Saving Country Music said it best: "Our enemy has a new face friends and neighbors, and that face has a penciled-on beard and hoop earrings." This has all the hallmarks of what's terrible about mainstream country: a laundry list of what it means to be "country", shameless namedropping of country legends and it sounds much more like '80s rock than any of the artists that get namedropped.

4. Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
Chart peak: 4

I used to think Luke Bryan had potential if he could just find the right songs. This blew up any goodwill he had with me and showed he has no interest in finding the right song. Instead he'd rather sing trash and hire a bunch of strippers to dance on stage with him.

3. JaneDear Girls - Wildflower
Chart peak: 15

I'm not sure I heard any song this year that made me wish I was deaf more than this one.

2. Trace Adkins - Brown Chicken Brown Cow
Chart peak: 39

Who doesn't love a puppet porn music video? This was so bad Trace pulled it from radio and apologized for releasing it in the first place. I don't know if there has been a great artist in history who has had more wildly extreme swings between good and bad songs than Trace has over the past five or six years.

1. Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem
Chart peak: 1

As the joke goes, country + rap = crap. But this doesn't even try to combine the two. It's a rap song, and not a very good one at that. Extra douchebag points for the fact it's sung by the biggest poser in all of music and treats drinking and driving like it's no big deal. Worse yet, its monster success means there's a decent chance we'll see it imitated. I'm starting to think Jason Aldean is actively trying to kill country music because I have a hard time believing an artist could do so much damage to a genre by accident.

2011 in Country Music: Best Albums

2011-12-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

The end of another year means it's once again time for me to play music critic and alert you to some good stuff that you may not have known existed because your favorite radio station ignores it.

10. Hellbound Glory - Damaged Goods

This go-round from the masters of "scumbag country" is much more accessible than previous offerings, with smoother edges both in the production and the content. Drug use and gratuitous swearing are much less common than on their last album. That doesn't mean the group has been completely neutered, with lines like "Hey there, bouncer, hit me as hard as you want/This ain't my first fight in a bar parking lot". In the hands of a Nashville darling like Brad Paisley, a few of these songs would be surefire radio hits. Instead, it's just great, authentic country music.

9. Justin Haigh - People Like Me

I'll start with what everyone else says about him: yes, he sounds a lot like Tracy Lawrence. With that set aside, he doesn't need to imitate anyone because the music stands on its own. This is a good old-fashioned honky tonk album, with a Waylon cover thrown in for good measure. The real gem here though, is "Is it Still Cheating", a killer tune written by the powerhouse trio of Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser and Jerrod Niemann. If there were any justice in the music industry, it would be the frontrunner for numerous awards.

8. Sonia Leigh - 1978 December

I was first introduced to Sonia Leigh a couple years ago as an opening act for the Zac Brown Band. Her somewhat rough voice and songs of hard living give her a bit of an outlaw vibe without being completely outside the mainstream. She wrote every song on the album (including to co-writes with Zac Brown) and that's a very good thing. As a writer, her lyrics are solid. As a performer, she may not be for everyone, but if you can get past the voice there is some great music here.

7. Drew Kennedy - Fresh Water In the Salton Sea

Drew Kennedy may be my favorite songwriter that most people have never heard of. His writing talents were put to the test, producing not just an album but also a companion book about a songwriter traveling the west and getting inspirations from the things he experiences during his travels. The songs that come out of that journey are the same ones on the album. I haven't read the book yet, but the album is solid. Many of the songs are also familiar to fans of Drew, as several appeared last year on his live album, Alone But Not Lonely. As is usually the case with Drew's music, the lyrics are the focal point of the music, and they are damn good.

6. Tom Russell - Mesabi

This year's list ended up having a strong theme of lesser known artists who write their own music. This is probably the most eccentric album of the bunch, as Russell brings together a lot of different influences to spin stories about a wide range of topics. Perhaps most oddly, there are four different songs about former Hollywood stars: "Furious Love (For Liz)," a waltz dedicated to Liz Taylor, "Farewell Never Never Land" for Bobby Driscoll, who voiced Peter Pan in the Disney version and also played Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island, as well as "Sterling Hayden" for the actor whose credits ranged from The Killing to Dr. Strangelove to The Godfather. Finally, there's "The Lonesome Death of Ukelele Ike," a ragtime-styled tribute to the 1920s and 30s era musician best known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket who also had a number one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" nearly a quarter century before the musical of the same name popularized the song.

5. Sherrié Austin - Circus Girl

It's been eight years since the Aussie born singer last released an album, though in that time she's written songs that have been recorded by the likes of Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins and George Strait. In her return to the studio, she comes out swinging with all the attitude of a young Tanya Tucker. It's sort of like Miranda Lambert minus the shootings.

4. Merle Haggard - Working in Tennessee

The old man is still getting it done. While this album isn't as strong as last year's I Am What I Am, it's still a solid album filled with songs about real life. It also has a couple scathing critiques about the current state of country music, though "Too Much Boogie Woogie" would be more effective if anyone actually referred to rock as boogie woogie in 2011. He also shows off his skill at imitating his contemporaries with a pair of solid Johnny Cash covers.

3. Larry and His Flask - All That We Know

Impressive. That's what came to mind the first time I heard this Oregon based band. Their cross between punk and bluegrass is unlike anything I'd heard before. Mix in high energy and extremely tight harmonies and you get something very special. It's hard to be as technically sound as this group is when singing a slow song, but at the speed most of their tunes move, it's even more difficult.

2. The Damn Quails - Down The Hatch

Why I didn't go buy this album the first time I saw a recommendation for it is beyond me. This is Americana music at it's finest. The music is rootsy and the lyrics have a poetic feel to them. The voices of Gabriel Marshall and Bryon White are distinct, yet compliment each other exceptionally well. This is a true duo with well crafted songs and a delivery to match.

1. Vince Gill - Guitar Slinger

When we last left our hero, he was winning Grammys for his four disc behemoth, "These Days". Five years later, he's back with an album that sounds contemporary while still comparing favorably to his earlier work. The lyrics are witty and insightful, the musicianship is superb and the voice is as good as it has always been. Given the title of the album, one might expect the sort of drawn out, self-indulgent solos that have become a regular piece of Brad Paisley's work. While there are plenty chances for Vince's picking skills to shine, they never distract from the music the way Paisley's often do. And lest this just be about fun, upbeat numbers like the title track, Vince also delivers some of the most powerful songs of the year, especially the first single, "Threaten Me With Heaven". If you're a fan of things that are awesome, you can't go wrong with this album.

Just missed the cut: Suzy Bogguss - American Folk Songbook, George Strait - Here For A Good Time, Willie Nelson - Remember Me, Vol. 1, Terri Clark - Roots And Wings, Jason Fratesi - Cryin' Out Loud

The Curious Case of Timothy Richard Tebow

2011-12-07T21:53:00.001-07:00

Oh, dear god.. Broncos defense holds the NFL's 9th-best offense to about half their 24-point average and all we're going to hear about is Choir Boy leading heroic, miraculous late field goal drives and 13 regulation points against the NFL's 5th-worst scoring defense. Shoot... me... now!!!

Tim Tebow intercepts Christian Ponder and the Broncos can win it.

When Google can't find the answer to something, they ask Tim Tebow for help.

That's a small sampling of statuses a few of my friends have posted on Facebook recently about the quarterback of my favorite team. Tim Tebow has rapidly replaced Brett Favre as the most talked about - and polarizing - player in the NFL. Why?

"If you're fortunate to spend five or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it." - Thom Brennaman, Fox Sports

Let's start with the religion issue. The way people talk about him, you would swear Tebow is the only pro athlete in the country that publicly proclaims his faith. But the truth of the matter is that he's not even the most vocal Christian on his own team - Brian Dawkins is. Even if he is, so what? I don't recall this sort of outrage over "The Minister of Defense" Reggie White, who was an ordained pastor. In a league full of guys shooting themselves in the leg, torturing dogs and beating their wives, when did being a good guy become a sin? People like to complain about athletes being malcontents, yet they're in a hurry to tear down the guy who does and says all the right things. The bastard!

So he prays regularly. He credits God for every good thing that ever happens for him and his team. He Tebows. How horrible that he would rather give credit to a higher power instead of making everything about him.

One announcer at a sports station in Lincoln posed the question recently: how would people respond to the guy if he were a Muslim? The implication, of course, is that he would be scorned. But let's turn that around. What if everyone was mocking the faith of a Muslim athlete? How would that play? The simple fact that the made up term "Islamophobia" exists answers that question. If he weren't a Christian, political correctness would shield him from ridicule.

"At the end of the day, you are a quarterback. You signed up to throw the football." - Shannon Sharpe

Yes, he has the lowest completion percentage of any starting QB in the league. Yes, he has had some bad misses. He is also essentially a rookie who didn't have the benefit of a full training camp because of the lockout. Even when he did get practice time, it was splitting second team reps with Brady Quinn as Kyle Orton was the established starter. But now he's getting reps and showing significant improvement. Not that you'd know given the way his haters ignore what he actually does in game. He was throwing some absolute lasers last Sunday against the Vikings. At the end of regulation he make a perfect throw over the safety's head in the end zone that would have won the game right there had Demaryius Thomas been able to hold on.

Some say that anyone can hit receivers as open as Decker, Thomas and Royal were last weekend. But do you know why they were open? Many of you just said, "Because the Vikings stink." Which is another way I know you weren't actually paying attention to what happened. They were open because nearly everyone on that defense had their eyes on Tebow at all times. It wasn't a simple busted coverage. It was an entire team that was worried about the QB taking off and running so they forced him to beat them through the air. Which he did.

Likewise, he had all day to throw and find his receivers against the Chargers. Why? Because they were worried about his legs. The defensive line slowed the pass rush because they were immensely concerned about him running.

It also makes no sense to me why people take it as gospel (see what I did there?) that he can't improve as a passer. Remember that postgame presser at Florida where he said we would never see anyone work harder than him? Everyone who wasn't a Gator fan made fun of it, but his words are true. We haven't seen anyone work harder. And with his work ethic and a little coaching -- last time I checked, the greatest quarterback of all time was in the front office -- who's to say he can't become serviceable?

The defense is the reason they're winning

Yeah. We know. Broncos fans take pride in the fact that we have a badass defense. We're the ones clamoring for John Fox to win coach of the year in large part because this defense went from one of the worst in the league last year to one of the best this year. Von Miller was a fantastic draft pick. Broderick Bunkley was one of the best offseason pickups any team in the league made.

The people who aren't giving the defense enough credit aren't the ones wearing blue and orange on Sundays. That's you. The same people who say Tebow is getting too much credit and the defense isn't getting enough.

Willis McGahee is winning those games more than Tebow is

See above. Broncos fans have been thrilled with the way McGahee has quietly reestablished himself as one of the top backs in the league. Once again, that's on you for not giving someone credit then complaining that he doesn't get enough credit.

"Tebow is the first white black quarterback. Black quarterbacks have been dealing with this crap for decades. Black people love Tebow because he's one of us!" - Mike Wilbon

When it gets down to it, Tebow is like any other quarterback in the league. All quarterbacks get more credit than they deserve and more blame when things go bad as well. Tebow just gets focused on because of the irrational hatred people have toward him for no damn good reason.

But go ahead with it. I know I enjoy watching my team prove you wrong every week. Meanwhile the team and the fan base are rallying around him. Which, by the way, there wouldn't be so many people supporting him so fervently if there weren't so many hating on him so viciously. Fact. I'm thrilled to have Tim Tebow as my quarterback.

"I think you signed up to win games." - Tim Tebow

SMiLE

2011-11-05T10:59:00.001-06:00

It's long been one of the most legendary unreleased albums in popular music.

While Beatlemania was sweeping the nation, the Beach Boys were carrying the torch for American rock and roll. The musical mad hatter, Brian Wilson, was in an arms race with the juggernaut duo of Lennon and McCartney. The Beatles released Rubber Soul, and the Beach Boys answered with the masterpiece that was Pet Sounds. The Beatles went to work trying to one up the Beach Boys, while Wilson started on what was to be his grand opus. But only one of those albums saw the light of day. Just weeks before the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper, the Beach Boys announced they had shelved Smile. Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown, his already strained relationship with Mike Love fell apart and the Beach Boys were never the same.

Wilson returned to finish the project as a solo album in 2004, but it just wasn't the same with his voice showing signs of age and the rest of the group absent. Taken on its own, it's a strong album from an aging artist, but it couldn't help but leave fans wondering what might have been.

Now, after a 45 year wait that makes Axl Rose look like a piker, Wilson's "teenage symphony to God" is finally available with the release of The Smile Sessions.

With all that time for the album to be hyped, bootlegged and speculated about, is it as good as expected? Yes and no. The first disc is set up to be more or less what the album was going to be, with a sequence that mirror's Wilson's solo version. These are far from finished products, with some songs missing vocals - notably "Love to Say Dada" which appears with lyrics as "In Blue Hawaii" on the 2004 release - and a few absent altogether.

As for what is there, I've never been much for really avant-garde, psychedelic type pieces, so tracks like "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"just sound like a series of random noises to me. On the other hand, there are some genuinely great moments here. "Good Vibrations" of course speaks for itself and "Heroes and Villians", which serves as the base that much of the album is built around is pretty well-known. Songs like "Wind Chimes" are strong and the first two tracks, "Our Prayer" and "Gee" give the group a chance to open by showing off their fantastic harmonies.

Overall, this is indeed a great album, but I personally think even if Smile had been finished, Pet Sounds would still be the better of the two.

What makes this collection special for hardcore Beach Boys fans, is the other discs in the set, which feature studio outtakes. It's an interesting behind the scenes look at the mad genius at work. Songs that didn't make the cut, a beautiful solo version of Surf's Up and an entire disc of various takes and outtakes from "Good Vibrations". There are a few jarring moments, such as an angelic vocal take of Wilson followed by him asking his bandmates if the acid has hit them yet. There are even a few spots that make you wish there was video to go with it - how did Brian get stuck in that piano anyway?

This is an absolute must have for Beach Boys fans.

Technology and the music industry: Turntable and Spotify

2011-07-24T20:35:00.003-06:00

In the past month, I've had the chance to be an early adopter of two new developments that I believe have the potential to radically alter the way we consume music. It began with a tweet and a Facebook post from Juli Thanki (editor of Engine 145), who had been on a new website, Turntable.fm.

Curious, I went to the site and discovered that it is in beta and only available to people who have at least one Facebook friend already using the site. This was no problem for me, since Juli and I are Facebook friends. I went to the Engine 145 room, and found Juli, along with fellow 9513 alumni Karlie Justus and Brady Vercher spinning tunes.

The concept is pretty simple, people join a room which features a virtual set of turntables where up to five people at a time can DJ. Each DJ takes turns playing a song that he or she has queued up. The songs can come from Turntable's surprisingly expansive library, or can be uploaded from the user's computer. All those who are not currently spinning have to option to vote for the current song being either "Awesome" or "Lame". Each awesome vote earns the DJ a point, which unlocks different avatars and generally provides bragging rights within the website. If there are enough lame votes, the song is skipped. There's also a chat box that would make AOL circa 1999 proud. If I were to compare it to something music fans are already familiar with, it's kind of like Pandora, but with humans choosing the songs instead of an algorithm.

It didn't take long to see the best of what the site has to offer as I joined in on the action, with a few other former 9513ers and a couple writers for other country blogs also dropped in. Five completely unproductive hours of went down the tubes that afternoon.

The site currently has roughly 300,000 users, though it had to block users outside the U.S. due to licensing issues. And therein lies the biggest hurdle Turntable faces. The recording industry could potentially torpedo the site if it chooses to continue its draconian crusade against technology. However, recent agreements with BMI and ASCAP indicate the industry is willing to embrace the site. I see this as a good move, as Turntable has great potential in the area of music discovery.

One of the things that made that first time with my fellow country bloggers so excellent was that A) we all knew each other on at least some level, even if just superficially through the web, 2) we all shared similar taste in music and F) we all have a penchant for listening to little known artists outside the mainstream. Over the course of those hours, there were several times when someone would play a song I had never heard, but enjoyed. I was quick to add these songs to my iTunes wish list and eventually bought them. Those are music sales directly attributable to Turntable, and I highly doubt I'm the only person who will do that sort of thing.

Spotify, on the other hand, brings with it a different sort of intrigue. It's a music player that allows user's to listen to not only their personal music library (excluding any copy protected songs) and also stream a vast array of other music and share playlists with friends.

This could be a bit of a double-edged sword in terms of the business of music. I am the sort who typically chooses to download full albums, even in this age of a la carte music buying. Oftentimes I wind up liking most of the album, but there have been some times when I wished I had only bought a couple of the songs. Now, through the magic of Spotify I can listen to the full album for free, then decide whether I want to buy it, cherry pick songs or skip it altogether.

This could lead to fewer sales if users no longer see the need to buy music that they can stream for free -- though it can only be synched to an iPod if the user signs up for the paid version of the program. On the other hand, it could lead to a decrease in the industry's biggest pet peeve: pirating. What's the point in pirating a song or album that can be legally streamed for free on Spotify? Granted, it doesn't completely eliminate the incentive to pirate because of the inability to synch in the free version, but it still helps.

This could also be a boon for the artists in the same way that music pirates have always argued their activities have been. Artists make very little money off album sales. Fact. By the time the record company, the producer, the songwriters, the backup singers, the band and the artist split your $9.99, there's not a lot going to anybody. Except the poor, oppressed label, of course. Instead, the artists make most of their money by selling tickets to concerts and merchandise at concerts. If someone has to pay for music of an artist they know nothing about, they may never find out they actually like that music. On the other hand, if they can listen for free and find out they're fans of the artist, they may be inclined to go to concerts, buy merchandise and maybe pay for music in the future. As a result, the artist benefits.

Ultimately, the effect the two services have on the music industry will be determined by the users. I believe this is a major step in the process of power being taken away from the record labels and placed squarely in the hands of the fans. And that's a very good thing.

Thoughts on Cody Green's departure

2011-05-28T16:21:00.004-06:00

This afternoon, ESPN's Joe Schad tweeted that Nebraska backup QB Cody Green will be leaving the team and looking to transfer. The local media quickly confirmed the report, with Sean Callahan of Huskers Illustrated commenting that "I was told Green didn't feel like he was a fit in Tim Beck's new offense."

When Cody Green came to Nebraska as a four star recruit, expectations were high. They got even higher his freshman year as Zac Lee faltered and Green showed great speed and flashes of solid potential. Unfortunately, they remained just that: flashes. This year, Green struggled as Taylor Martinez's backup, consistently missing throws and fumbling at an alarmingly high rate.

Those things aren't solely Green's fault. Head coach Bo Pelini and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson often set him up for failure. He regularly had to come into situations where the team had horrible field position and was behind, leading the offense to throw much more than usual. I'm not to take all the responsibility off Green - he made some bad decisions and poor throws that were more than just pressure and jitters - but he was often coming into tough situations with no chance to get into any sort of rhythm.

Compare that to the two games he started this year against Iowa State and Colorado. In those games, he put up a completion percentage of 68% while throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one more. He did fumble three times, but the Huskers recovered all three, so it didn't hurt them.

I don't blame Green for leaving the team, and I wish him the best. With any luck, he'll land at a mid major or a lesser school in a good conference and have a chance to fulfill at least some of his potential.

Goodbye to The 9513

2011-05-02T21:09:00.001-06:00

The 9513 (pronounced ninety-five thirteen) has been the premier blog in the world of country music for several years now. Today its founders, Brady and Brody Vercher, have announced the site's retirement.

Blogs come and go every day, and most go unnoticed by all but a very select audience, but this site was different. Brady and Brody created the site to give their sister Jenna a creative outlet after the death of their grandmother (whose street address was 9513). When Jenna's life got too busy for her to continue writing with any consistency, the brothers took over and built it into a fantastic source of music news and reviews that served thousands of people every day.

For a brief time from May to August 2009, I had the privilege of being a part of The 9513. Then editor Jim Malec took a gamble on a 20 year old kid who had never even considered music journalism prior to applying and gave me a chance. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last, but I had the chance to write alongside some extremely talented writers and form as much of a relationship as I can given that I've never met any of them in person and mainly know them through Facebook and Twitter.

Before during and after my time with the site, it opened my eyes to a vast array of fantastic music that simply doesn't get played on mainstream radio and that I may have never discovered otherwise. Miss Leslie, Rodney Hayden and Drew Kennedy are just a couple singers who are on my iPod specifically because of The 9513. Without the site, I might have never come to appreciate Jamey Johnson's artistry.

Thank you to the Verchers and Jim Malec for all the work you put into the site and for giving me a chance. Thank you to the fantastic writers who informed and entertained us over the years, especially those who were with the site at the same time as me: Juli Thanki, C.M. Wilcox, Karlie Justus, Pierce Greenberg, Ken Morton Jr., Sam Gazdziak - I'm probably leaving someone out, and I apologize for that.

The 9513 was a fantastic blog, and it will be missed.

My writing at The 9513:
Single Review: Craig Morgan - "Bonfire" May 28, 2009 (The review that got me the gig)
June Mailbag: Is Jamey Johnson Still Alive? June 29, 2009
Terri Clark and James Otto Hot As Lightning At Nebraska Concert July 13, 2009

Staff Picks for June 2009 July 15, 2009
Single Review: Dierks Bentley - "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes" July 27, 2009
Mailbag: The Stalker Edition July 29, 2009
Gary Allan and Jamey Johnson Showcase Performance, Art August 7, 2009

Apparently, I am still capable of writing. Occasionally.

2011-04-29T21:43:00.000-06:00

Reading comprehension:
a useful life skill

These fingers haven't done much typing since I left the DN, but I've been thinking I should get back to doing it once in a while, if only for a bit of a release after work, where we're now chest deep in the biggest clusterf*** of the year: spring tent sale.

Speaking of our tent sale out at the Fort, if you read an add that says "(product) starting at (price)" and you expect to find significant quantities of said product, you're a moron. Especially if you think you're going to get anything of any quality. I thought everyone knew that's code for "We only have a few things at this price and they're all crappy. Anything that's even slightly worth a damn is more expensive." Don't come in my place of work and yell at me about false advertising because you're not smart enough to understand what "(price) & up" means. Just so there's no further confusion on that point. By the way, memo to the fat lady with the gnarly muffin top: I think I speak on behalf of anyone who ever comes into contact with you when I say you really ought to invest in some shirts that are a size or two bigger than the one you wore to the store today.

Now as for things that might actually be of any interest to anyone other than me. Maybe.

I don't know if you've heard, but apparently the NFL Draft is happening this week. If you're anything like me and were so caught up in the marriage of someone who holds a meaningless position in a form of government that was so bad we felt the need the beat the crap out of the British more than 200 years ago, this draft may have caught you completely unprepared. I've hardly had time to study what Mel Kiper has to say about the third string water boy for Boise State and how his 5 yard split time in the 40-yard dash makes him a potential sixth round steal for teams whose coaches have middle names starting with L.

Here's what you need to know: The lockout, which was on then lifted is now on. Jets fans hate their picks, no matter who they take. Houston's fascination with guys from Colorado State and Purdue has been replaced by a fascination with guys from Wisconsin and Arizona. Denver's picks are excited about the opportunity to line up behind the gaping hole where the defensive tackle is supposed to be. And NFL scouts are some of the best wordsmiths ever.

Seriously, "doesn't play up to his potential on film" is the most creative way I've ever heard of to call someone lazy.

Also the NBA is finishing up round one of the playoffs and looks forward to crowning its champion on Veteran's Day. Right now chalk is winning your tournament pool, with the exception of San Antonio, which has been getting significant minutes from the franchise's bookkeeper.

In baseball, Commissioner Bud Selig has taken control of the Los Angeles Dodgers and inserted himself in the lineup as the number three hitter.

Most importantly, the Colorado Rockies are neck and neck with the Phillies for the best record in the National League. Screw you, large market teams.

2010 in Country Music: Album Cuts

2010-12-31T10:52:00.001-07:00

This was definitely the hardest of the three lists to put together, because of the sheer number of songs involved. I had a list of about 60 possibilities, with about 25 that I could have put in my top ten. So I decided to expand to my top 15 and I decided to limit it to two songs from any one artist to allow for more variety.

15. Marty Stuart - Branded

A solid number about a fugitive on the run that hearkens back to some of Marty Stuart's biggest hits.

14. Gary Allan - No Regrets

Most country songs detailing breakups are heavy on despair and regret, but on this one Allan chooses to convey a sense of gratitude for what he had. It's a nice change of pace to focus on the good things that happened during the relationship rather than being in despair because it's over.

13. Randy Houser - Addicted

The notion of love as a drug is not exactly a new metaphor in music, and this song doesn't break any new ground, but Houser sells it really well.

12. Alan Jackson - Taillights Blue

Jackson's latest album is pretty unremarkable for the most part, but there are a few songs on it that show he can still be as good as anyone in the industry when given the right material.

11. Jamey Johnson - Lonely at the Top

Jamey Johnson is the main reason I imposed the two songs per artist limit on this list, otherwise half of it would be from The Guitar Song. This one happens to be a Keith Whitley song that Whitley himself never recorded before his death. It talks about some of the struggles that come with celebrity while keeping in mind that "It may be lonely at the top, but it's a bitch on the bottom."

10. Gary Allan - That Ain't Gonna Fly

In stark contrast to No Regrets, this time around Allan deals with a breakup by self-destructing. It may not fly, but it sure sounds like fun when he sings it.

9. Marty Stuart - Hangman

The last song Johnny Cash wrote, just four days before his death, looks inside the troubled mind of an executioner who has to find a way to cope with the fact that killing people is his job. This song sounds more like something I would expect to hear from Rodney Crowell or Cash himself rather than Stuart, but Marty pulls it off.

8. Johnny Cash - Ain't No Grave

In his final farewell, the Man in Black declares victory over death while still acknowledging his own mortality.

7. Dierks Bentley - Rovin' Gambler

On an album that melds bluegrass with other forms of country, this is probably the song that veers most into traditional bluegrass territory.

6. Jamey Johnson - Heartache

This song makes me start to think Johnson might be capable of personifying just about anything. In this one, a heartache becomes not just a feeling, but a person working behind the scenes to stir up trouble.

5. Dailey & Vincent - Elizabeth

This is one of my favorite Statler Brothers songs, and as long as the harmonies are tight, it pretty much sounds good regardless of who sings it.

4. Rhonda Vincent - In The Garden by the Fountain

Who doesn't love a good song about murdering your lover and burying him in the garden? Especially when sung by someone with a voice as good as Rhonda Vincent.

3. Alan Jackson and Lee Ann Womack - Till The End

I can't think of anyone better suited to cover an old Vern Gosdin hit than Alan Jackson. And there is no better woman in the industry to join him on it than Lee Ann Womack.

2. Chely Wright - Notes To The Coroner

Chely made news earlier this year when she announced publicly that she's a lesbian. That got quite a bit of publicity in country music circles, but what really deserves attention is the music she was promoting at the time. This is an exceptional song about a woman who has died from a broken heart and left her diary as evidence.

1. Teea Goans - Walking The Floor Over You

The first time I heard this, all I could say was, "Wow." Teea Goans has an incredible voice and this is one hell of a cover of an Ernest Tubb classic that is contemporary while still being faithful to the original.

2010 in Country Music: Best and Worst Singles

2010-12-30T11:00:00.001-07:00

I have two criteria for the songs that were released late last year but were still on the charts into this year: 1) The single reached its chart peak during this year and 2) It wasn't on last year's list.

10. Zac Brown Band - Colder Weather
Chart peak: 54 (and rising)

An old theme of a rambling man leaving his woman behind, but they make it sound fresh. Zac Brown does a good job conveying emotion in songs like this. Bonus points for the guy being in Lincoln (where I go to school) while the woman he loves is in Colorado (where my best friend is from).

9. Terri Clark - A Million Ways To Run
Did not chart

A well done song about the many ways people deal with their problems, usually by trying to avoid them altogether. It details a woman who comes to grips with the fact she has been doing exactly that and it isn't working anymore.

8. Sunny Sweeney - From A Table Away
Chart peak: 18 (and rising)

I'm shocked Sunny got a song in the Billboard Top 20, in a good way. It's one of the more traditional sounding singles to actually chart as it details the other woman looking on as her love interest is on a dinner date with his wife.

7. Ryan Bingham - The Weary Kind
Did not chart, but did win an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song

I'm sure Bingham wasn't expecting to win an Academy Award when he wrote what became essentially the theme song for Crazy Heart, but he did. The song is central to the movie as we see Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) write it throughout the film, culminating in it becoming a hit for his protege, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell).

6. Gary Allan - Get Off On The Pain
Chart peak: 18

As I mentioned in the albums list, I love Gary Allan. This is one of those songs I talked about that could be part of the soundtrack to my life, with lines like "My whole life I've been picking fights there ain't no way to win".

5. Jamey Johnson - Playing the Part
Chart peak: 39

I'm not sure if it says more about Johnson's music or the state of country radio when one of the best singles of the year was one of the more mediocre songs off The Guitar Song.

4. Eli Young Band - Guinevere
Chart peak: 45

This one flew under the radar for anyone who isn't specifically paying attention to EYB, but it's my favorite song they've done so far. It's a great job of using a character from the King Arthur legend as a metaphor in modern times.

3. Dierks Bentley - Draw Me A Map
Chart peak: 33

I've been a fan of Dierks for a while, but he really elevated himself with Up On The Ridge. If you don't have this album, you need to get it. There isn't a weak song on it.

2. Zac Brown Band (feat. Alan Jackson) - As She's Walking Away
Chart peak: 1

The first time I heard this song on the radio, it grabbed me by the neck and made me take notice. This is just flat out a damn good song that's bolstered even more by the addition of Alan Jackson as an old sage passing along advice, while also passing the torch to the new wave of country stars.

1. Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me
Chart peak: 1

This song elevated Miranda from very good to elite. The bare bones acoustic instrumentation really allows the vocals - and more importantly, the lyrics - to take center stage, and they are rock solid.

Five Singles I Hated

5. Carrie Underwood - Undo It
Chart peak: 1

This song stole my happy and I wish there was a way for me to uh-uh-uh-uh uh-uh-uh-unhear it.

4. Jason Aldean - Crazy Town
Chart peak: 2

This might be clever if it were sung as a critique of Nashville by someone whose success couldn't be directly attributed to exactly the things it talks about. Instead, it's sung by Jason Aldean. He's been "bending those strings" on the radio for five years now, and I've yet to hear even a tiny bit of Hank come out.

3. Justin Moore - Backwoods
Chart peak: 6

Justin Moore is so country, he has to tell us how country he is on every song just so we don't forget.

2. Craig Morgan - Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone
Chart peak: 38 (and, sadly, rising)

Remember when Craig Morgan used to do good songs? Those days seem to be long gone.

1. Fast Ryde - Top Down
Mercifully did not chart

I don't think the clip Amazon uses adequately conveys how craptacular this autotuned monstrosity is, so here's the music video.

2010 in Country Music: Top Albums

2010-12-29T11:19:00.002-07:00

It's that time again. Everyone who writes about music is putting together their year-end lists of the best and worst music, and I'm no different. Here are my ten favorite albums from 2010.

10. The Infamous Stringdusters - Things That Fly

With their third album, the Stringdusters move their sound a little more towards the contemporary, while still keeping a firm grasp on traditional bluegrass music. The vocals and harmonies are strong, but it's the the instruments that really take center stage here and in a very good way.

9. Mark Chesnutt - Outlaw

This won't make many year-end lists, but I'm a big Mark Chesnutt fan. It can be tricky for an artist to do a covers album, especially when the songs are as well known as the ones here. The artist has to decide whether to do straightforward recordings that are true to the originals or to change the arrangements to make the songs their own. Chesnutt chose the former and the result is a pleasant collection of classic songs done by a solid honky tonker who has tremendous respect for those who came before him.

8. Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave

The final installment of the American Recordings series showcases a frail Johnny Cash coming to terms with his own mortality. It's dominated by songs about reaching the end of life and dying. With Rick Rubin's stripped down arrangements and Cash's voice that seems somehow weak and strong, it's a haunting final chapter to the man's legend. As the album closes with the traditional Hawaiian song "Aloha Oe," it's almost as if the ghost of the Man in Black is saying one last goodbye from beyond the grave.

7. Dierks Bentley - Up On The Ridge

Dierks Bentley has always shown a good amount of respect for bluegrass and acoustic music, including the likes of the Grascas and Del McCoury for a few cuts on each album. This time he put together a full album along those lines and the result is the best of his career. For the most part it's not full-on bluegrass, but it's a lot closer than most mainstream artists will ever come, especially while in their prime. So naturally, radio won't play it and the two singles off the album are the lowest charting of his career. Screw you, mainstream country radio.

6. Gary Allan - Get Off On The Pain

I love Gary Allan. In recent years he's really grown from an artist I like to one of my absolute favorites. While there are a few questionable production decisions on this album, Allan makes it work thanks in large part to one of the best voices in the industry. What really sets Allan apart from the rest of mainstream country today is the subject matter. While most songs on country radio are dominated by fairy tales of perfect lives and anthems of who's countrier than who, Allan sings about real life. For me the sign of a great song is when it really moves you emotionally and is something that you can relate to so well that it feels like part of the soundtrack to your life. As far as I'm concerned, no artist has done more of those songs than Gary Allan and this album continues that.

5. Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give

Zac Brown fascinates me in the way he has been an enormous commercial success without sacrificing the quality of his music. Five of six singles have gone to number one with the other going to number two. And here's the key: for the most part, he does quality songs, rather than the garbage that usually succeeds. The harmonies are always tight, the instruments are excellent and the writing is solid. Zac Brown is the greatest piece of evidence that mainstream country doesn't have to suck.

4. The Steeldrivers - Reckless

It takes a special kind of singer to make self-destructive behavior sound like an appealing lifestyle, but Chris Stapleton does exactly that in his final album with the Steeldrivers. In a world where mainstream singers such as Eric Church, Justin Moore and Jason Aldean want to tell you how tough they are, it's Stapleton who actually sounds like a badass. And the more toned down songs and the ballads are damn good too. This is probably the closest thing to outlaw music there is today.

3. Marty Stuart - Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions

Marty Stuart has always been somewhat of a musical curiosity to me. I've respected the musicianship he and his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, bring to the table, but aside from his duets with Travis Tritt and some of his lighter songs like "Tempted", I've never really been able to get into his music. I'm a believer after this album. Stuart got special permission to record in RCA's hallowed Studio B, which is now a museum because of the number of legendary recordings that have been made there. He brings an appropriate amount of gravitas to the album, with tunes like "Porter Wagoner's Grave" and "Ghost Train Four-Oh-Ten", while still being able to have fun on more upbeat tunes such as "Branded." The real standout here is the haunting "Hangman" which Stuart co-wrote with Johnny Cash just four days before Cash's death and would fit right in with Cash's catalog.

2. Dailey & Vincent - Sing The Statler Brothers

I really like the Statler Brothers. I also really like Dailey & Vincent. Put the two together and you get a great collection of bluegrass adaptations of some solid songs. Doing an album of Statler songs can be tricky, given the importance of Harold Reid's bass to many of the tunes, but while the member of the band (sorry, I don't know his name) doesn't exactly nail the part, he does a respectable job while Jamie and Darren are great on the lead and tenor parts.

(This album is only available for purchase through Cracker Barrel)

1. Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song

In the few years I've been doing my year-end list, this is probably the easiest choice I've ever had for a number one. Johnson's 25 song, two disc offering is the sort gritty, hardcore country that sounds like material Waylon Jennings himself could have recorded. Jamey Johnson has demonstrated once again why he is the best thing going in country music.

The morning after: Nebraska vs. South Dakota State

2010-09-26T09:10:00.000-06:00

That was ugly. It's the only time I've walked out of Memorial Stadium following a win that I felt as if it were a loss. The Huskers deserved to lose. South Dakota State simply outplayed them.

So what went wrong for Nebraska?

Speed

South Dakota States defense is really fast. Possibly one of the fastest we'll see all year. That created problems for a Nebraska offense that is built around speed but wasn't able to outrun the defense the way it did in the first three games.

Play Calling

It's often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That's exactly what Shawn Watson does. He ran what amounted to the same three plays every possession even though it wasn't working. One of Watson's biggest weakness as an offensive coordinator is his inability to make adjustments. Part of the problem is the system he's using this year. The zone read is fine to use once in a while, especially with a quarterback as well suited to it as Taylor Martinez, but you cannot build an entire offense around it and expect to succeed. Eventually teams figure it out, and that's exactly what happened last night.

Quarterback

Taylor Martinez is the white Jammal Lord - a running back posing as a quarterback. That's a problem, because he was no threat to pass when the running game wasn't working. He showed that he doesn't have much for an arm and was ineffective, throwing for two interceptions. Part of his trouble might be attributed to Mike McNeil sitting out the second half with an injury, but there are other guys on the field who can catch. And one guy named Niles Paul.

When Cody Green came in during the fourth quarter, it really wasn't much of a change. Cody has a little better arm than Taylor, but not by much. On his first possession, he badly overthrew an open man that could have had a big gain, then on his second he underthrew an open man. Putting in Cody doesn't change our offense at all, as he's effectively the same type of player as Martinez.

Meanwhile, Zac Lee stood on the sideline watching, even though he's the one quarterback on the active roster who can throw. Perhaps the coaches know something we don't and he hasn't fully recovered from his offseason arm surgery, but if he was able to play he should have. He could have provided a change of pace and established some semblance of a passing game to take some pressure off the running game.

Chely Wright's big announcement

2010-05-06T14:04:00.001-06:00

Chely Wright has been in the news quite a bit this week as she has released a new autobiography, Like Me, and an album, Lifted Off The Ground, and oh by the way announced that she is a lesbian. This is viewed as a big career risk as country music fans are often generalized as a bunch of right-wing Bible beaters and as such are expected to shun her after this announcement. But is it really such a big risk? After all, she has already been out of the spotlight for several years and hasn't had a major hit since the Clinton Administration.

I'll say up front that as a Christian, I believe homosexuality is a sin and I disapprove of it.

But that's not what I want to talk about. What I'm more interested in is the timing of the announcement.

As I mentioned, Wright has largely been irrelevant since "Single White Female" was a number one hit in 1999. She did have another brief stint of getting attention when "Bumper of My SUV" caused a lot of people to lump her in with Toby Keith as a pariah for opponents of the Iraq War, but that was fairly short lived. As such, there really wasn't that big of a risk involved. There's no reason to fear that country radio will shut her out, because they already don't play her music. But there is a potential benefit in that the publicity could spur album and book sales.

Now please don't misunderstand, I don't question the authenticity of the admission and I'm sure she was indeed very conflicted about it. But I do feel making such an announcement as part of the effort to sell books is the wrong way to go about it. If I could make a comparison, it strikes me similar to the way Jose Canseco got involved in baseball's steroid problem at the precise moment that he had a book to sell. Canseco's claims have largely been corroborated since, but it still feels very sleazy to many that he did it in such a way.

Ultimately, Chely Wright's sexuality is her business and shouldn't affect the way her music is judged. If people were fans of her when they thought she was straight, there's no reason they shouldn't still buy her albums now that they know she's a lesbian. Conversely, if someone didn't care for her stuff before but suddenly wants to become a fan just because of the announcement, that's silly.

How Chely Wright handles this situation in her private life is her own business, but publicly she should be judged no differently than any of her fellow country singers.

Strait, Reba, Womack bring traditional country to Omaha

2010-04-09T14:22:00.000-06:00

Country music's must-see tour of the year rolled into the Cornhusker State on Thursday night as three of the best in the business played to a near-capacity crowd at Omaha's Qwest Center.

The arrangement of the venue - with a square stage in the middle of the arena with fans on all sides - could have presented a potential challenge to the performers, but all three managed to handle it in a way that made it feel like they weren't favoring one side of the building over the others.

Lee Ann Womack
I missed the first half of Womack's 30 minute set because traffic in Omaha sucks, but based on what I did see she primarily focused on her biggest hits, such as "A Little Past Little Rock", "Never Again, Again" and of course her smash hit "I Hope You Dance." There were a few misses in the bunch, such as her ill-advised new single "There Is A God", but overall it was a quality set from one of the most under-appreciated female vocalists in country.

Reba McEntire
The show kicked into full gear when the fiery redhead billed as the "Queen of Country Music" took the stage. Reba worked the crowd masterfully as she mixed her classics with songs off her current album, Keep On Loving You.

The nearly two hour long performance reached a climax as Reba began "Does He Love You" and Womack emerged from the tunnel just to the left of my seats to sing Linda Davis' part of the duet. It was a moving performance as two of the best in the business combined on a powerful song.

Shortly after Womack left the stage, the ante was upped even further with a powerful performance of the Kelly Clarkson-penned "Because of You". Reba appeared to be near tears as the song was interrupted multiple times by standing ovations.

Then as just as quickly as the emotional moment had surfaced, it was replaced by comic relief as she began talking about her work on stage and television only to be interrupted by Reba costar turned Singing Bee Host Melissa Peterman running on stage. Peterman feigned drunkenness while wearing a George Strait t-shirt that looked like it lost a fight with a Bedazzler and initiated the sort of banter between the two that made the TV show so enjoyable. The two then came together on the show's theme song, "I'm A Survivor".

After a few more songs, Reba left to a standing ovation as the crowd looked for an encore. After a few minutes, a yellow taxicab drove into the arena and Reba emerged in a flashy red dress and heels to perform "Fancy."

George Strait

After an intermission to reset the stage, it was time for the King of Country to show everyone how it's done. There are no surprises with George Strait, everyone knows there will be no theatrics, no light show, no choreography. He just stands there and sings. And that's all we want. With his typical soft spoken demeanor Strait carried two hours of hit after hit, singing two songs on one side of the stage, then moving to the next as he circled the platform giving each side of the audience equal time. He was the definition of cool.

While the set featured several of his biggest classics, including "Amarillo By Morning", "The Chair", "Ocean Front Property", and "Unwound", it also pulled heavily from his four most recent albums. Some of the choices were obvious, (such as "Troubadour" and his current single "I Gotta Get To You"), some were inspired (such as "Arkansas Dave") and a few were puzzling. Why he sang "Texas", aside from his obvious love for his home state, is beyond me.

There was something for everyone in the performance. From slow heartbreak ballads to rowdy honky tonkers, and from he latest singles to the ones that made him a giant. Finally, he brought the house down with "All My Exes Live in Texas" and "Folsom Prison Blues" and (naturally) finishing with "The Cowboy Rides Away".

He then put down his guitar and worked his way around the edge of the stage shaking as many hands as possible while the Ace in the Hole Band played on. He finally stepped down from the stage and worked his way down the aisle to the tunnel waving and shaking hands before disappearing to the dressing rooms. And just like that, the cowboy rode away having wowed another audience.

Andrew's ACM predictions

2010-04-08T12:01:00.004-06:00

Sunday night will be the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. I don't plan on watching, because most of the awards are not going to the people I think deserve them and I'm just going to wind up frustrated, but here are my predictions anyway. I've put the person I think will win in bold and the one I actually want to win in italics.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR (Fan voted)
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band

It's fan voted, which means Swift and Underwood are the only serious contenders. I'll go with Swift.

TOP MALE VOCALIST
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Darius Rucker
Keith Urban

Paisley is the most deserving in the group this year, but he's won three years in a row, so I'm guessing the Academy will want someone esle.

TOP FEMALE VOCALIST
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack

Miranda released the best mainstream album of the year last year, but Taylor is the darling of these award shows.

TOP VOCAL GROUP
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Randy Rogers Band
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Lady A has all the momentum, but I prefer ZBB. It amuses me that Randy Rogers somehow keeps getting nominated even though they're not particularly well known outside of Texas. You should check them out, though. They're good.

TOP VOCAL DUO
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland

Sugarland is deserving, but I'm betting the Brooks & Dunn award will be going to its namesake as a goodbye present.

TOP NEW ARTIST (Fan voted)
Luke Bryan
Joey + Rory
Gloriana

J + R are by far the best of this bunch, but it's fan voted and Gloriana has been touring with Taylor Swift.

TOP ALBUM
American Saturday Night - Brad Paisley
Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum
Play On - Carrie Underwood
Revolution - Miranda Lambert
The Foundation - Zac Brown Band

Production issues aside, Miranda's album was better than Brad's, but Brad has more commercial popularity.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
People Are Crazy - Billy Currington
Red Light - David Nail
Toes - Zac Brown Band
White Liar - Miranda Lambert

I love White Liar, but Need You Now is a killer song that has had huge commercial success.

SONG OF THE YEAR (Awarded to the songwriter)
Cowboy Casanova - Mike Elizondo, Brett James, Carrie Underwood
Need You Now - Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott
People Are Crazy - Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones
White Liar - Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
You Belong With Me - Liz Rose, Taylor Swift

Taylor is a much better writer than a singer, and as I've said before, she's the darling of award shows. I wouldn't rule out "People Are Crazy" though, because it has the most well-established writers.

(I'm not picking video of the year because I haven't seen any of the nominees)

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins
Honky Tonk Stomp - Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons
I Told You So - Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
I'm Alive - Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
Seeing Stars - Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin

It's a shame that the only way for Randy Travis to get attention nowadays is for him to be a duet partner for Carrie Underwood on his own song, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Nate Robinson wins third dunk contest

2010-02-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Lackluster.

That's the best description I can think of for the 2010 NBA Dunk Contest. In recent years we've seen great theatrics and impressive dunks from Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard, but both were severely lacking in this year's contest.

This year, the field featured Robinson along with Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats, who last competed in 2001, and two first-timers - Lakers guard Shannon Brown and Raptors forward DeMar DeRozen.

The three challengers all chose to play it safe early on, doing relatively simple dunks that won't win contests anytime soon. Robinson took a little more risk, but chose to just do enough to get into the finals. The one sign of creativity came from DeRozen's second dunk, which featured a high degree of difficulty as teammate Sonny Weems threw an alley-oop off the side of the backboard.
One would expect the two to reach for some more exciting dunks in the finals, but it never materialized. The one attempt to go all out had to be aborted because Robinson simply couldn't get high enough to get over the rim.

The last two dunk contests left observers excited and seemed to re-energize the competition. This year was a major step backward. It's going to take something major for the contest to regain it's glory. Something like Lebron James.

McGwire confirms what we all suspected

2010-01-11T21:57:00.001-07:00

It's official, baseball's renaissance was a fraud.

Mark McGwire's admission of steroid use should come as no surprise to anyone, but it is nonetheless one of the darkest moments in the history of baseball.

I was nine years old in the summer of 1998. It was during that time period that sports grew from a passing interest of mine to a passion. John Elway had just won his first Super Bowl, Michael Jordan had just won his sixth ring. and the Colorado Avalanche were perennial Stanley Cup contenders. It was in April of 1998 that I went to my first (and unfortunately, to this date, only) Major League Baseball game as the Colorado Rockies led by reigning National League MVP Larry Walker were blown out by Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves, 11-4. It was in the summer of 1998 that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa made history. It was a great time to be a baseball fan.

While I knew cheating was an integral part of the game - corked bats, spitballs, etc. - but I was naive about steroid use. In hindsight, it seems most fans were. It's not that we condoned cheating, it's just that we wanted so badly for what we saw to be legitimate.

Forget it ever happened.

If only it were that easy. How can we just forget the graphics that appeared every day on the sports pages of newspapers across the country tracking the blistering pace set by McGwire and Sammy Sosa - and Ken Griffey Jr., who likely would have also surpassed Maris had he not been slowed by injury? How can we just forget the sight of Sosa meeting McGwire at home plate to congratulate him on number 62? How can we forget the image of McGwire embracing his son as the nation lauded him for making history?

History built on a lie.

So where does that leave us?

McGwire's statement to Bob Costas that he started around the 1994 season is consistent with his numbers as he hit only nine homers each in 1993 and 1994 due to injury shortened seasons. Then from 1995-1999, he hit 39, 52, 58, 70 and 65.

If we give him everything up to and including 1994 as legitimate (which may be a bit charitable), that leaves him with 238 legitimate home runs and 345 steroid assisted.

In short, it leaves him nowhere near the Hall of Fame. It leaves us with four of the top 15 home run hitters of all-time confirmed PED users (Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Manny Ramirez being the others) and two more (Sosa and Barry Bonds) suspected.

It leaves the commissioner's office and the player's union with questions to answer. How could they not have known? If they did know, did they willingly put profits and ticket sales ahead of the health of their players? What was real and what wasn't in baseball from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s?

In the end, only three people come out of this mess looking good: single season home run king Roger Maris, all-time home run king Hank Aaron and the real home run champion of 1998 - with 59 in that season - the greatest player of his generation, Ken Griffey Jr.

Dawson to the Hall; Blyleven snubbed again

2010-01-06T13:54:00.002-07:00

Today the Baseball Writers Association of America revealed its votes for the Hall of Fame Class of 2010. The class consists of one player: Andre 'Hawk' Dawson.

Dawson played 21 seasons in the major leagues (1976-1996), primarily with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs. He was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1977 after hitting .282 with 19 HR and 65 RBI. While in Montreal, he won six consecutive Gold Gloves and made three all-star appearances while finishing second in MVP voting twice.

The artificial turf at Olympic Stadium took a toll on Dawson's knees, and he was determined to play on grass. In 1987, he took a significant pay cut to play for the Cubs and immediately put up a career high 49 HRs and 137 RBI while becoming the first player from a last place team to win an MVP award.

He won two more Gold Gloves and made five more all-star appearances while in Chicago. He retired with a career .279 batting average, 438 home runs (36th all-time) and 1591 RBI (34th). He is one of only six players with 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and one of only three with 400 HR and 300 SB along with Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

Dawson was inducted in his 9th year of eligibility, being hampered by a .323 on base percentage and raw numbers that are less impressive when accounting for the hitter friendly environment of Wrigley Field. Dawson's candidacy gained traction in 2005, when he received 52.3% of the vote and former teammate Ryne Sandberg used his own induction speech to campaign for The Hawk.

Join me after the jump for discussion of two players who got left out.

Bert Blyleven

Blyleven came up just five votes short of induction, the closest he has come since he became eligible in 1998.

Blyleven pitched for five teams over 24 seasons and was known for having one of the best curveballs in the majors at the time. He won 287 games an would have been a HoF lock had he won 13 more to get to 300. He ranks 5th all-time in strikeouts with 3,701, pitched 20 or more complete games in three different years, which is unheard of in today's game, led the American League in shutouts three times and posted an ERA under 3.00 eight times.

The biggest knocks against him are that while he had a lot of solid seasons, he had only a few outstanding years. He only made two career all-star appearances, never finished higher than 3rd in Cy Young voting and his career 3.31 ERA is very average.

He has just two years of eligibility remaining, and I expect him to finally make it in 2011.

Roberto Alomar

In his first year of eligibility, one of the greatest second basemen of all-time missed selection by eight votes.

Alomar played 17 seasons (1988-2004), with his best years coming in the late '90s with Baltimore and Cleveland. He is a member of the 2,000 hit club with a career .300 average and 474 stolen bases. He was selected to 12 all-star games, won 10 Gold Gloves and posted an on base percentage over .400 five times.

Many expected Alomar to get in on the first ballot and he will almost certainly get in next year. Most likely a number of writers left him off simply because they didn't want him to get it on the first shot, perhaps going back to an infamous incident in 1996 when he spit on umpire John Hirschbeck while arguing balls and strikes.

Mark McGwire received 10 fewer votes than last year and looks unlikely to ever get in.